Corangamite CMA has been supporting farmers across the Corangamite region to improve their soil quality for many years, with the focus of recent programs being how to build more biologically rich and structurally complex sub-soils through cover cropping.
Participants in the Soil Health Program learned about increasing soil carbon, native vegetation and biodiversity on-farm while improving knowledge and management practices around soil acidification and climate change adaptation.
The results have paid off, with one sheep farmer utilising winter cover cropping to both improve soil and provide feed for the hotter months. The farmer reports seeing his sub-soil transform from a white sandy layer to a dark soil colour over four years, significantly improving ground cover all year around.
This project was supported by Corangamite CMA, through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
“[We] needed to find a way to enhance soil health, to improve structural integrity, increase biological activity along with building carbon and nutrient levels but not at the expense of feeding our sheep and running a profitable business. Cover cropping seemed like the logical thing to do, and it’s pretty simple.”
